Hair super dry after showering, but not always?

[Loveletters]

Hey! My hair is usually extra dry after showering. After 3 days it's a bit less dry, but by that time my hair's starting to get really greasy already. But the weird thing is: this is not always the case. Sometimes it's just normal, not super dry. But I always use the same products and let it dry the same way. I do not use natural shampoo. I use loving blends papaya vanilla shampoo and bed head resurrection conditioner. I've used these products for 5 years now. Before, I used bed head shampoo AND conditioner but this caused a lot of frizz. Same for both loving blends shampoo and conditioner. This combination seemed to be the golden recipe for a while, but not anymore. I let my hair air dry before going to sleep. Why does my hair always dry up differently after showering?

[lapushka]

Just going by the scalp alone. If you need to wash more than once a week, you are oily. If you can go a week (a bit oily) then it's normal, and if you can go longer than that, your hair is dry.

Now the lengths, different story. You usually can sort that just fine with a good conditioner or mask.

[Loveletters]

Hi Lapushka, thanks for your reply. Won’t I get a lot of conditioner buildup if I don’t use shampoo on the length?

[spidermom]

I guess it depends on your definition of "a lot". I usually shampoo just the scalp area, then suds run through the length during the rinse. About every 3-4 weeks, I lather a hard water shampoo from scalp to ends to remove mineral and other buildup, let sit for awhile, then rinse. Is that a lot?

When I lived in a soft water area, I only washed the entire length with clarifying shampoo about every 3-4 months. As you can see, buildup and the need to remove it can vary a lot.

[lapushka]

Hi Lapushka, thanks for your reply. Won’t I get a lot of conditioner buildup if I don’t use shampoo on the length?

I used to always let the suds run down the length (squish it in sometimes). If you do that, it should be fine. Nowadays I clarify wash my lengths with every wash, since I use plenty of styling products on the hair, and this is a nice new fresh start for me every week.

[ynne]

Hey! My hair is usually extra dry after showering. After 3 days it's a bit less dry, but by that time my hair's starting to get really greasy already. But the weird thing is: this is not always the case. Sometimes it's just normal, not super dry. But I always use the same products and let it dry the same way. I do not use natural shampoo. I use loving blends papaya vanilla shampoo and bed head resurrection conditioner. I've used these products for 5 years now. Before, I used bed head shampoo AND conditioner but this caused a lot of frizz. Same for both loving blends shampoo and conditioner. This combination seemed to be the golden recipe for a while, but not anymore. I let my hair air dry before going to sleep. Why does my hair always dry up differently after showering?

Extra dry hair after washing might mean you use too strong shampoo, or need to use more conditioner. But I think diluted shampoo would be a good first experiment!

Also, do you have hard water? Your hair may be experiencing mineral build-up even if you don't use leave-in products, that sometimes changes the hair's response to products it used to love.

As for why it might vary so much: it could be that sometimes, your hair is more oily to start with, so the shampoo doesn't completely strip off the oils and therefore it feels less dry? Like when you wore a hat, or just waited longer to wash your hair. Also, if you use different amounts of shampoo, it might be weaker/stronger and remove less/more of the natural oils each time. All of that, and outer aspects like weather, might affect the state of your hair on the wash day. :) Oh! And is it possible you sometimes go to sleep with hair that isn't 100% dry? The moisture could be soaked up by your pillow, drying your hair out more.

[Firefox7275]

Protein overload?

If you have some virgin hair and some damaged (heat/ dye/ sun/ mechanical) they can need different care and tolerate different types or amounts of protein.

ETA: no protein. But sodium chloride high up in the shampoo ingredients, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride and magnesium nitrate in the conditioner. These are mineral salts and 'hygroscopic' (water attracting), can draw water out of the hair.

Try chelating rather than clarifying. Expect your hair to feel stripped even tangly temporarily. Immediately do an intensive conditioner/ mask with some hydrolysed protein in (keratin, collagen or silk) alongside some slippy ingredients (liquid oil, silicones).